Helping Hands: Wasson-Goss gets a kick out of running youth soccer league

“A passion for soccer and a passion for children” is how Amanda Wasson-Goss describes volunteering for the Paul Klover Soccer Association.

The second-year PKSA board president and lifelong Sedalia resident became involved in the league like most others do — because of her children. Her eldest son, Trent, 12, wanted to play.

“When (Trent) was young, I thought this is something that I would really like to be involved in,” Wasson-Goss said. “I tried to find something that I could help with because I see other people doing it for my children. I wanted to be part of giving back.”

Volunteering is in Wasson-Goss’ blood, being the youngest daughter of the late Bob Wasson and Elle Wasson-Duggan.

“My entire family has always been geared toward volunteerism,” Wasson-Goss said. “I was kind of raised in a household that dedicated a lot of their spare time working for organizations in Sedalia (for those) that are in need.”

In Trent’s second season in the PKSA, Wasson-Goss was approached by Jody Chmelir about coaching her son’s team.

“I remember him calling because we both had children (in the program). He knew I was a sucker,” Wasson-Goss said. “They were short on coaches — which is always a trend — they called and asked if I would coach Trent’s team. That’s where it started.”

She continued coaching not only Trent’s team but also her youngest son Tyler’s team. Tyler is 8.

“The more I learned about the organization, I saw that they could definitely use some help,” Wasson-Goss said.

With that in mind, she joined the board about three years ago. She will be president of the board for two years this December.

“The first meeting I went to, they didn’t have a lot of people present and didn’t have a secretary,” Wasson-Goss said. “I had had experience with that previously with PTA. So I said, ‘I can do that and I can take notes for your meetings.’ ”

As board president, she helps run the fall recreational and indoor programs. She helps organize the spring soccer academy and the PKSA’s summer soccer camp, which attracts former Sedalians who are coaching elsewhere along with the current staffs at Smith-Cotton and Sacred Heart.

“They all require a lot of work,” Wasson-Goss said. “As you can see, we’re an all-volunteer group. ... We do the registration, put the teams together (and) order the shirts. We set up the fields. We provide training for our coaches.”

According to Wasson-Goss, 475 youths are playing this year in the fall recreational league, and about 600 are expected to play in the indoor league that starts the Monday after Thanksgiving.

While she didn’t play soccer in high school, she grew an appreciation for the sport well before PKSA.

“Back in the day, they didn’t have girls soccer (at Sacred Heart),” she said. “I probably would have (played) had the opportunity been there.”

Instead, she watched the Sacred Heart boys games and followed the State Fair Community College men’s team growing up.

Wasson-Goss and her sons continued to fall in love with soccer and took it to another level when Trent joined one of John Moore’s competitive teams. She said that Moore is one of the smartest and most knowledgeable soccer coaches she has known.

“We travel year-round with them. It’s really become a family (thing) for the boys and I,” Wasson-Goss said. “(In Moore’s program) we started to go to (Major League Soccer) games. We’ve continued that for several years now.”

The family now watches soccer on TV, including the MLS and Barkley’s Premier League games.

“We watch a lot of soccer and learn a lot,” Wasson-Goss said. “I think, especially being a mother of two boys, I try to stay involved in what they like.”

Wasson-Goss likes the sport and the children involved in PKSA so much, she plans to work with the organization for years to come, even after her sons leave the program.

“This has become something special. It’s something that I plan on continuing to be part of,” Wasson-Goss said. “I may take different roles in the future. Let some other people have a turn doing the running.”

When she’s not helping out PKSA, she works at PrintLynx, for which she’s worked eight years. She works in the sales division as a liaison.

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